Happiest Place To Live, Norway Apparently

[emmie]

should we be moving there seeing as how they are so happy..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-39325206

[ToraToraTora]

Jesus H, £81 a pair of jeans! Must be a socialist Dystopia!

[emmie]

its getting that way here now.

[ladyalex]

If you can get beer in Norway for less than £8 a pint, you are doing well.
Everything is unbelievably expensive over there (to my eyes anyway) but their wages are commensurate.
They certainly managed their oil considerably better than anyone here did, with the possible exception of the Shetland Islands Council.
It is a beautiful place, though. And the air is so clean and clear.

[Barquentine]

Norway is not in the EU is it? Nor is Switzerland and I think they are high up on the list. Maybe we will be happy in the UK in a couple of years! Then again, when you are completely happy you are not aware of it. You are so busy being happy it never occurs to you just how happy you are ....until you're less happy..when you look back with nostalgia on those happy days! Well, that's how it is for me anyway. I had no idea just how delirious I was! (smiley face icon)

[emmie]

lots of reasons for why its so expensive, worth a look...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g190455-i550-k2665101-Why_is_Norway_so_expensive-Norway.html

[emmie]

Although the Kingdom of Norway is not a member state of the European Union (EU), it is closely associated with the Union through its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA), in the context of being a European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member.

[KARL]

The top five are Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland - they are all in the Schengen zone, four in the EEA and two in the EU. None of the points referred to in this thread comes close to explaining why these countries occupy these positions but many/most/all of the points raised may explain why the UK is (miserable) in the 19th position. OG comes closest to shedding light on the comparison, it is a matter of preoccupations, preferences, priorities, etc., i.e. choices. All the places in question outdo the UK in lots of other ways too as other lists keep showing - the same countries keep ending at the top. Still, in one way the facts are irrelevant because in the UK the UK is the world's best place, no matter how uncomfortable the facts are.

[KARL]

OG, agreed, but every one of the top five have far higher standards than the UK at 19. In several important areas the USA at 14 has arguably lower standards than the UK does, but they are even more fervent believers (than the UK as "best") that theirs is heaven on earth - happy as pigs....